Wake Libertarians are once again challenging the two-party duopoly in the county. Four people are running for state Senate and nine for state House, covering 13 of the 16 districts in Wake.
The candidates are: Justin Walczak, Senate 14; Kat McDonald, Senate 16; Travis Groo, Senate 17; Jason Loeback, Senate 18; Adrian Travers, House 11; Sammie Brooks, House 33; Michael Munger, House 34; Michael Nelson, House 35; Bruce Basson, House 36; Liam Leaver, House 37; Richard Haygood, House 38; Guy Meilleur, House 41, and: Cap Hayes, House 49.
In 2014, no Libertarians ran for any office in Wake. In 2016, seven Libertarians ran for the General Assembly. In 2018, we doubled that and added candidates for U.S. Congress and Court of Appeals.
“Wake Libertarians continue to offer more real choice to county voters in 2020,” said David Ulmer, county chair. Candidates will focus on three core issues: school choice, privatizing the ABC system, and housing affordability in 2020.
“The 2020 campaign is sure to be even more hysterical and polarizing than in 2016,” Ulmer observed. The presidential contest will probably dominate media coverage.
“Our challenge will be to avoid the irrational, unreasonable tribalism. We’ll stay focused on local issues and connect to the expected high voter turnout,” he said. “Our appeal will not be to the tribal members. Our appeal will be to the growing number of younger, unaffiliated, unaligned voters.
“Our appeal will be based on issues, not our labels. Our goal will be to build bridges and find common ground, not make political points or win arguments.”
Wake Libertarians are going to work very hard to push through the noise to talk to Wake voters about issues and policies that matter most to them, he said.